Document Type
Thesis Prep
Date
Spring 2014
Keywords
Bhatia, Nature, Crematoria, landscape
Disciplines
Architecture
Description/Abstract
How can technology today enhance or amplify the social interactions of people in crematoria through the simulation of nature? Crematoria typically, are religious and neutral spaces appropriate to those who want to participate. One of the most significant aspects of crematoria is location. Most crematorium complexes today are located next to either a noisy motorway or in an industrial park. The reasoning behind this is usually to make sure it is not open to the public for viewing unless they want to be a part of it. Usually the crematoria end up in an open landscape, but have walls that would screen this in order to maintain some kind of privacy. Another important aspect of the location of crematoria is that it needs to be by a water body - where part of the ritual involves dispersing the remains in the water.
Why situate these crematoria in remote locations? The crematoria is there to be experienced by those who want to be a part of the process – in order for this to happen the crematoria should be made accessible. By locating the crematoria in a location which can be easily available to anyone the opportunities to have a new or different experience open up.
In order to make this experience celebratory in honor of those who have deceased my proposal is to bring the landscape into the crematoria rather than placing the crematoria in remote locations. Similar to crematoria designed in the past – the simulation of nature being a part of the architecture will play a major role in the project. This proposal involves integrating the ideas and processes of an active architecture (one that engages the occupant through sensory technologies) with the ideologies and theories of a passive architecture (one that uses typical means of achieving the simulation of nature in the space).
By unifying the advancement of sensory technologies with a passive architecture the location and experience of crematoria can be improved immediately - the space automatically evolves from being a space that limits the amount of time you can spend there versus one that can made available for an extended period of time.
Recommended Citation
Bhatia, Tanya, "Enhancing Sensory Environments of Crematoria" (2014). Architecture Thesis Prep. 227.
https://surface.syr.edu/architecture_tpreps/227
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
